For example, you can get AT&T’s 500Mbps fiber plan for $65 per month, which is slightly cheaper than Spectrum’s 500Mbps cable plan. It ranks second for price satisfaction in our latest customer satisfaction survey, behind only T-Mobile. Surprisingly, AT&T has a lower latency average than Google Fiber, but it’s far higher than Verizon Fios (fiber), Astound Broadband (cable), and Xfinity (cable).ĪT&T is one of the best high speed internet providers in terms of price. Sure, you can game online with DSL, but you get better speeds if you go with fiber-which translates to better latency. A single 8K video stream will probably require at least 50Mbps, so even a gigabit plan should handle the load easily.Īs a gamer, you want AT&T’s fiber internet over its DSL service. That said, if fiber or Spectrum isn’t available in your area, Xfinity is your next best choice for gaming online.ĪT&T is now one of the fastest big-name internet providers in the US with its 5Gbps plan, which, honestly, is a little overkill for home internet. You can pay an extra $30 per month for unlimited data, but that’s an extra $360 per year. The cap can also be a burden when installing updates that reach up to 100 GB and beyond. That can be problematic if you install digital games rather than physical ones. The big drawback with Xfinity is its 1.2TB data cap-it’s one of seven that limit your data each month. We don’t recommend this plan even though we prefer fiber over cable. Plus, it’s expensive and comes with high installation fees. Xfinity also offers a residential fiber plan based on its metro business fiber service, but it’s so scarce we don’t even list it. Xfinity’s cable internet reaches up to 1,200Mbps in download speed and up to 35Mbps in upload speed. Spectrum is Xfinity’s biggest competitor and has a slightly higher latency. That gives it the upper hand over Astound Broadband, another cable internet provider with better latency but a smaller footprint. If you use your own equipment, unlimited data costs an extra $30 per month for lower tier plans, but is included for plans of at least 1 Gbps.Xfinity is the third-largest internet provider, covering 34.2% of the US. However, using Xfinity's equipment gives you unlimited data, and you qualify for a free upgrade after three years. This is a bit steep for just the extender-you can grab an excellent Wi-Fi extender for right around $50. You can also add a Wi-Fi extender (and unlimited data) if you bump up to xFi Complete for about $15 per month for the first two years (and $25 per month starting in year 3). If you have trouble installing yourself, you can contact customer service for help but may face long hold times.Īs for equipment, the Xfinity xFi gateway is fairly typical (and costs a fairly typical $14 per month). The self-install kit is free, though you may pay for shipping and handling. It's required if you haven't had Xfinity service at the address for more than 12 months. The professional option is often more affordable than competitors, at $100. Xfinity internet offers the usual choice of professional and self-installation. They do come with unlimited data, though, so might still be worth it for some households. Most households don’t need those internet speeds unless they’re streaming a ton of 4K content at the same time or have 10 or more users, so we don’t recommend them for most households. That is ludicrously fast, but it’s also really expensive. Some areas can get speeds up to 2 Gbps, and others can get plans as fast as 6 Gbps. (1) That means you're paying just $0.18 per megabit, with plenty of megabits to go around.įaster plans are available, but they are pretty pricey compared to the best fiber internet competitors we reviewed. It rings in at about 36% of the national benchmark in its range. The 400 Mbps plan, which is about right for an average family, is also a great price. Those plans have a data cap of 1.2 terabytes per month, which is disappointing but common among cable internet service providers (ISPs). In fact, it offers some of the best budget plans of any of the major internet service providers, with a 50 Mbps Internet Essentials plan for less than $20 per month and a 400 Mbps plan for $50 per month in some areas. Xfinity is generally a very good value, especially at the middle and lower tiers.
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